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The Sound Kitchen

Somewhere over the rainbow

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This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear the answer to the question about the prospective record-breaking rainbow in Taipei. There’s listener news, some great music, and of course - the new quiz question. Just click on the arrow in the photo and enjoy!

David Franklin/Getty Images/A Terrade
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Hello everyone!

Welcome to The Sound Kitchen. You can catch the programme on-the-air every Saturday at 6:15, 7:15, 14:45 and 16:45 universal time. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you have grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and tune in every Saturday.

For our DX enthusiast friends: Our shortwave frequency is 9735 kHz on the 31m band, from 06.00 to 07.00 UT every day. We’ve had reception reports from Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Cuba, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, the UK and the US, and although the frequency is “aimed” (or however that works) towards the African continent, give it a try. You never know … and be sure and send us your reception reports. Maybe we can get more time, which would be wonderful.

You can also hear our programs on WRMI (http://www.wrmi.net/) and WRN (http://www.wrn.org/listeners/). These broadcasters diffuse our programs out of the goodness of their hearts, but unless you tell us how you heard us, we have no way of knowing … so do write and tell us how you listen to us.

If you have an internet radio and would like to add RFI English to your pre-set buttons, send an e-mail to english.service@rfi.fr and we'll get the link to you.

We want you to call us! We have a phone number you can call to leave us a message, so we can hear your voice! Just call, give your name, your country, and a short message - something like “I love RFI”, because of course you do – and we can put you on-the-air! Remember, World Radio Day will be here before we know it, so leave a message for your fellow radio lovers which we can air on the big day (13 February). The number to call is: + 33 1 84 22 95 82.

Welcome to our new RFI Listeners Club members!  Pa Modou Sillah
from Brikama Jamisa in the Gambia, and Richard Nosworthy from Cardiff, Wales. So glad you have joined us!

You too can be a member of the RFI Listeners Club – just write me at english.service@rfi.fr and tell me you want to join, and I’ll send you a membership number. It’s that easy.

The RFI Listener Relations department is asking all you football playing radio fans to send photos for the “Ma RFI” web page (it’s in French). They want action photographs, not posed team photos. It’s a cool idea – players and playing fields from around the world. Send your action football photos to english.service@rfi.fr and I’ll send you the link to see the page with other football playing RFI radio fans. Don’t be shy!

A warm welcome to Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr), who is your new contact person for all RFI Club business. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write her, so that I stay in the loop too.

RFI Clubs, take note: It’s almost time for the RFI Club photography contest! Audrey Iattoni has set the opening date for 15 January. This is what you have to do: take a photo of your entire club membership with the RFI banner, doing something in the kitchen, or something to do with cooking - which will make us laugh! So put on your silly thinking caps, get out your pots and pans or whatever you choose, and get all your club members in the photo with the RFI banner … and make us laugh!  You’ll receive an official notice with all the details this week – so start dreaming up your photo now. Audrey already has the present for the winning club: a Cyber-shot Sony camera!

This week’s quiz: On 9December, I asked you a question about rainbows: on 30November at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei, Taiwan, a potential record - breaking rainbow was spotted. You were to write in with the time the rainbow remained visible as well as the location and timing of the rainbow which holds the current record for longest visibility.

The answer is:The rainbow in Taipei lasted 8 hours 58 minutes.

The rainbow which currently holds the world record for longest visibility was set in Yorkshire, England in 1994. That rainbow lasted 6 hours.

The conditions that made the rainbow in Taipei last so long were a seasonal north-east monsoon that trapped moisture in the air, forming clouds; sunlight, and a relatively slow wind speed of 2.5 to 5 metres per second. It seems such atmospheric conditions are fairly common in winter in Taipei's Yangmingshan mountain range, where the campus is located.

The winners are: Maaz Bin Shahzad from the RFI Pak France International Listeners Club in Sahiwal, Pakistan; Sabana Akter from Naogaon, Bangladesh and RFI Listeners Club member Ralf Urbanczyk from Eisleben, Germany. There were two winners from India this week: Lutfunnesha Begum from the RFI International DX Radio Listeners Club in Murshidibad and Nafisa Najim, the president of the RFI Mahila Shrota Sangha Club in Hariharpara.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: Fenton/Leach: “Sari”; Yip Harburg: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” sung by Judy Garland (of course!); Rimsky - Korsakov: “Flight of the Bumblebee” and “Symbol of Reality”, sung by The Gladiators.

Have a musical request? Write me and let me know! thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

This week’s question: You'll have to listen to the show to participate. You have until 12 February to enter this week's quiz. The winners will be announced on the 17 February program. Be sure you send your postal address in with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then 33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize click here

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or to form your own official RFI Club click here

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